Dimensiones de la investigación social sobre la nanobiotecnología

Abstract

Nanobiotechnology can be envisaged as a set of technologies that apply nanotechnological tools, components and processes to biological systems. These applications focus on human beings in the field of nanomedicine. In parallel, nanobiotechnology is also the use of biological systems as inspiration and, literally, as scaffolding or components for the development of new nanoscale products, including new materials and nanobiosensors. The convergence of biotechnology with nanotechnology represents a process of great scientific, technological and social significance, given the capacity of this nano-bio combination to transform reality. Numerous social and environmental impacts are anticipated, from small incremental improvements in already established technologies (such as filters, sensors, materials for prostheses, medicines, etc.) to innovations today unimaginable. All this justifies the relevance of social research on nanobiotechnologies, both from a theoretical and a practical perspective. This article describes the main dimensions of such research, with a number of issues grouped under the following labels: analysis and risk management, awareness and public understanding, technology transfer, bioethics and biopolitics, and sustainability.